A year, seriously??

Has it really been over year??? Jeez, I'm terrible. I feel like I have so much to share on a daily basis and here I have the perfect outlet and STILL nothing!!! Well, lucky for us not too much has happened other than everyday life sort of things but we have definitely been busy!!

Xander started 2nd grade this year which is proving to be quite challenging but he's doing great and we are so proud of him. His heart is huge and he is constantly entertaining us with his "ideas." Let's just say we are screwed as he gets older because the ideas will only get more elaborate and complicated ... pray for me!!

Louden. Lord have Mercy!!! This child is never still, EVER! If there was a way I could bottle his energy and sell it, I would!! He would be set for life. I bet he could even drop out of school right now. His current obsession is John Cena. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about this, especially since I was shocked he even knew who he was considering we don't even watch WWE at home but so far it has worked in my favor. As long as I tell Louden that John Cena does or doesn't do something, Louden follows John's lead.


For Example:

Me: "Louden, Do your homework!"

Louden: "No, later."

Me: "But John Cena did his homework as soon as he got home."

Louden: "Where's my pencil? This is easy."




Louden: "Yuk, I don't like salad!"

Me: "Really?? I think I read somewhere that John Cena eats salad everyday. I think that's
         how he gets big muscles."

Louden: "This salad is good with this dip (ranch)."



I'm not kidding, friends. These are actual conversations that have happened. Whatever works, right????


Sometimes you just have to take what you can and run with it. If for some reason I were ever to run into John Cena, I would probably hug him and say, Thanks for making my home life easier you have no idea what it's like to live with Louden. LOL!

I would love to know, do any of your kids have an idol and do you use them to make your life easier?


Have a Fabulous Day!!!
B.Elliott

We're back!!!

Caloundra, Queensland Australia
June 27, 2013

I feel like I should be busting out in song!  Guess who's back??? Yep! That's right, the Elliott Family has returned from Down-Under. And what an adventure it has been!! It wouldn't quite be an Elliott Family Adventure without a little chaos and confusion.  There's a long standing joke that if it's going to happen, it will happen to us.  I will have to go into some comical detail with this at some point but todays not the day.

We returned from our 2 year Australian "holiday" approximately 4 weeks ago.  We have been readjusting to not only our American lifestyle but our Military lifestyle as well.  We all feel a little lost right now and we are missing life in Australia terribly but it's nice to be back. 

We have returned to Fort Benning, Georgia for those of you who did not know and we have also moved back into the house that we were living in before we left.  Kind of nice, yet I still have not figured out where everything is going to go.  We have acquired a fair bit since living here last but I have to admit, I am not going to miss mopping the 2000 sq. feet of white ceramic tile in our house in OZ!! Hello Little Fort Mitchell House, I will never complain of your floors again!!!

The boys started school right away when we returned.  That was a MAJOR transition but I think we are finally starting to settle in.  Xander had a very rough time leaving his school in Singleton and starting the school here because they are some drastic differences but the wonderful thing about my sweet Xander is that he is easy to love and very adaptable.  Louden is doing much better now as well and is very excited about all that he is learning.  The hardest part for him is sitting still and NOT TALKING!!! LOL!! Anyone that knows him well, knows how difficult this really is but it will be good for him to learn a little self-control :)

One of the "PROS" to not having our household goods for what feels like FOREVER, is that I get to take my time picking out new paint colors for the whole house and finding DIY projects.  I'm trying to look at everything as positively as possible or else I may just go insane!!!  We did have a few things in storage that were delivered 2 weeks ago, however my advice to anyone moving overseas who are able to store things prior to leaving would be to make sure you put USEFUL items in storage instead of fake Christmas trees, holiday décor and 100 snow globes because then you have to try and find a place for these things in your empty house.  This weekends family fun activity was putting up the Christmas tree and decorating it for Halloween/ Autumn.  Don't judge friends, when you are living in a house with little boys and you have no toys and a 19 inch TV, you get REALLY creative. 

I look forward to catching up with everyone and am thrilled to be back for the Holidays!!!  I was just  talking to one of my dearest friends, Christine, this morning about all that we have to do now that I am back. Lots of fun and goodness in the VERY near future.

Hugs and Love
B.R.E.

The Latest and Greatest from the Elliott Fam!

Yep! It's official ..... I suck at keeping up with this blog thing. This is sad and pathetic considering I have more free time here in Oz and I feel like I have lots to share in regards to our experiences.

The most important news is that we received our orders back to the good ole' U.S. of A! And we will be stationed in .... drum roll .... Fort Benning! LOL! Shocker, huh???? I have mixed feelings about this but am thrilled to be back with some of our friends. The boys are so excited so I guess my happiness lies in theirs :)

We are also going to be moving back into our house, however I have no clue how we will fit but it makes the most sense right now and again ... the boys are thrilled!!

We are currently in the process of planning what is most likely our last big trip in Australia; Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and the Australia Zoo. We have been looking forward to doing this since before we left the states :) Also, we will finally be able to hold a Koala!!!

As far as the family, everyone is doing great. Michael just finished up instructing what will most likely be his last course, Xander is getting so big and grown up and becomes sweeter everyday, and Louden just started wearing glasses and keeps us on our toes CONSTANTLY! That child is WILD and witty!

Sadly, I have not started editing our New Zealand pictures. I need to but I know once I sit down and start I will be at it for a few days. We are still feeling very blesses about being able to go on such an amazing adventure and we can't wait to share our pictures and stories once we get back. Perhaps we will have to have a welcome home party so we can show you all our goodies and share our FABULOUS wine!!!!

I am not going to promise that I will be better but I will definitely keep everyone posted.

 Hugs and Love,
BRE

Holidays are no joke!!!

Soo, I made a goal for myself to keep up on my blog not realizing I decided to do this right before the holiday season down-under.

Holiday is no joke here!

Everyone takes off for week long holiday trips, something I could totally get used to. However, I do not think our bank account could... HAHAHA!

A week after my last blog post we took off on the best vacation we have ever had and might possibly be the best vacation we will ever take in our lifetime; a 2 week New Zealand cruise!!! There are a few words I can use to describe this trip:

Amazing!
Phenomenal!
Fantastic!
Unbelievable!
Breath-taking!
Dreamy!
A Blessing!

Photographs and books do NZ no justice! Michael and I also agree that we now understand why they filmed Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit here, it's magical for sure!

With all this being said, I'm sure everyone is wondering, well... Where are the pictures??? I am embarrassed to say, I have not been able to edit yet and have not really posted any because it will, no joke, probably take me a week to edit. We took an empty 8g SD card for the trip and we ended up filling it by the last day. That's right.... I have to edit through 1400 pictures!!! And I don't want to rush because, like I said, this was a trip of a lifetime and I want them to be perfect and perfection cannot happen until Thing 1 and Thing 2 are back to school which is not for another week :)

This has been a very long holiday break but one filled with adventures and chaos, as one would expect in the Elliott home. Since this will be our last summer holiday in Australia we want to make it count and I promise, once we are back into our routine I will start posting about our AMAZING holiday :)


BRE

You spent how much to bring your dogs????

The Girls A.K.A Adah and Abby

People are always amazed that we brought our dogs here.
Was is a pain? Yes!
Was there a ton of paperwork? Yes!
Was it scary? Yes!
Is it a pain having them here? Yes!
Was it expensive? You don't even want to know!! (5 digits)
Was it worth it; would you do it again? YES!

Look at these two, they own us! They were our first babies. I could never leave them.
They would never abandon us, so we will never abandon them.
We may never get a good nights sleep, but who cares!
LOOK AT THOSE BABIES!

These fur babies have got us through some tough and scary times and they have been with us through every milestone and every wonderful moment we have had.
I am pretty sure that the only living creature that can truly have unconditional love is a dog.

Australia, in my opinion, is not one of the most dog friendly countries in the world.
However,I completely understand why. When it comes to importing and exporting they have to be careful because they do not have certain diseases within their country (ex. rabies).
There are not a ton of places you can take your dog and many people do not allow their dogs inside. This is not a judgement in any way, just an observation :) Honestly, its almost better to leave your puppies outside because it cooler. Adah has become very fond of remain outside while I drop Xan off at school and hit the gym. It's her very own paradise out there.

Bringing our girls here has definitely proved to be a challenging at times especially because we have and still intend on traveling which means more, expensive boarding for them. At the end of the day though, no one will ever love them like we do.

Have a Fantastic Day!
BRE

Dinner with the Ladies.

While being here in OZ I have had the pleasure of meeting some amazing women. Last night a group of us went to dinner because one of our friends will be leaving next week to a new duty station and like every get together we have laughter infects us all. What makes this an event worth sharing is the fact that most of the laughter was due to the Aussie view of Americans. I am hoping that my American friend, Jackye and I were able to clear the air and misconcepts a little bit last night.

I am always amused in peoples perceptions of many aspects of life but this takes on a whole new meaning when it is you and your lifestyle, but I find more humor in it all than anything else. I am hoping I do not step on any toes here but I have to share some of the funnier things that come up in conversation ....

1. Yes, Turtle Man and Swamp People are for real, BUT that is not how ALL Southern  people are!!!

2. The "People of Walmart" website is real, but normal people shop at Walmart too.

3. New York is an actual state, NYC is a small part of it :)

4. Peanut Butter and Chocolate is an amazing combination, this is not weird! This is an Amercan staple alond with PB & J. Don't knock it til you ty it :)

5. Driving on the left-hand side on the right side of the road is not difficult... well, at least no more difficult than driving on the right-hand side of the left side of the road :)

6. YES! Americans LOVE to eat and we like LOTS of selection. Many traditions and gatherings revolve around food and I will be taking with me once I leave this amazing place Lamingtons, Sticky Date pudding and new appreciation for Tea!!


Much Love,
BRE

The Queen Slacker!

Yep! That's me .... the Queen Slacker! Maybe I should get a shirt made that says this, that way the whole world knows that the Queen Slacker has appeared.

So, I had the best intentions of becoming more consistent in my postings but then, life happened and my slacking "skills" took over. Then, this morning I got up, ran through my mini getting-up routine; get out of bed, go straight to the laundry room to start a load of laundry, head to kitchen to turn on coffee maker, unload dishwasher while waiting for Keurig to warm-up, get a coffee and head to the computer to check email and Facebook before Thing 1 and Thing 2 emerge from their slumbers and while in the middle of this task I came across a new blog, and that's when it hit me! I need to add my blog to my routine like this lady does (BTW.. her blog is titled, Life with 4 boys ...coffee please!) !!

Now I am sitting here in my kitchen with my coffee that I had to heat up in the microwave (gag) because the boys got up before I could finish my last task but I am determined to make a post today :) So with that being said here is what has been going on:

*We booked a cruise! Not just any cruise, we booked a 14 day New Zealand cruise and we leave a just a couple weeks. We are beyond excited!!

*We have not heard much about about our return next year, but we still have a bit of time before this happens.

*Xander is almost done with "Kindie" next year he is off to year 1. He is very excited.

*We are currently getting ready to say Farewell to many of the friends we have made here the past year :( Most people post in and out of places in December because of the holidays and the school year change. We are so sad :(

*Louden has just learned to ride on his big bike without training wheels. This has been very dramatic for mom and I am trying to embrace his "dare-devil" mentality. Not quite sure what God was thinking when he decided I should be the mother of boys but I know he has a plan :) Definitely Blessed!!!


As you can see not too much is going on but we are definitely looking forward to the holidays. Lot's of traveling and family time! Feeling beyond Blessed :)